Gov. John Hickenlooper presented his $27 billion state budget plan to lawmakers Thursday, but his pitch focused more on what it didn’t include — a remake of the hospital provider fee.

Hickenlooper made the topic a priority in his remarks to the Joint Budget Committee, juxtaposing it against the roughly $370 million in cuts to education, capital construction and hospital reimbursements in his proposal.

The way to avoid the cuts, he said, is a another look at a bill Republican lawmakers rejected in the 2015 session that would have converted the hospital provider fee to an enterprise fund — exempting it from the state’s TABOR revenue caps and making room for more spending.

The 45-20 vote sends the bill back to the Senate, which approved a different version a week ago. The House added 12 amendments and more than half included bipartisan support. The two chambers will meet next week to negotiate a compromise plan and the differences may prove tough to overcome.

“No one got everything they want but together we passed a reasonable, responsible, balanced budget,” said Rep. Millie Hamner, a Dillon Democrat and budget writer.

The House vote represents a flip from the Senate, where the Republican majority supported it and most Democrats opposed it.

Our generous Denver Post colleague in the statehouse, John Frank, did Lynn Bartels and me a tremendous solid and spent the day yesterday covering the spectacle that is a state budget debate. He did the same last week in the Senate’s rhetorical knife fight. God willing, John will bear witness to the conference committee that works out the differences between what House Democrats want and the wishes of the Republican majority in the Senate, then each chamber votes on a compromise before the session ends on May 6.

A bill that passed unanimously out of the Colorado House Judiciary Committee Thursday afternoon could keep those arrested on charges of stalking, domestic violence or sex crimes behind bars a little longer. House Bill 1060 is intended to make sure those accused understand the terms and seriousness of the mandatory protection orders they receive, and is meant to give prosecutors a better tool to make sure violators can’t credibly feign confusion.

Hamner was the driving force in 2012 behind the state’s tough anti-stalking statutes called Vonnie’s Law. The law is named for Vonnie Flores, a kindergarten teacher’s assistant in Leadville who was killed by her neighbor in 2010. Anthony Medina had been stalking Flores for two years and was under a temporary restraining order to stay away from her following an arrest two weeks earlier.

Vonnie’s Law better defined stalking apart from other types of harassment and laid out protocols for bail and mandatory protection orders in those cases. And in most situations across Colorado, an accused person already goes before a judge to get out, but not always. Hamner’s legislation would make sure no one gets out before seeing a judge, hearing a clear explanation and signing a document acknowledging he or she understand the terms of his or her release.

Sen. Mark Udall joined the Gunnison County Democratic Party at the Taylor City Mountain Park Tuesday night for its annual barbeque. With him are Kerry Donovan, a candidate for the Senate seat held by Gail Schwartz, who is term limited, Rep. Millie Hamner of Dillon and Schwartz. Donovan is holding her dog Lewis. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Udall kicked off the day with a campaign event at the Off the Beaten Path bookstore in Steamboat Springs, where Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush provided an enthusiastic introduction for the senator, who faces Republican Congressman Cory Gardner in November.

A busy day in the House of Representatives Thursday came to a halt when the Republican caucus broke for a surprise meeting over lunch. The reason? A move by some party members to remove Rep. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, as minority whip.

“When you’re the minority party it’s important you stay together as a cohesive group. When leadership visibly doesn’t support that teamwork it’s problematic,” said Rep. Cheri Gerou, R-Evergreen.

Thursday’s actions stemmed from a debate that occurred the day before on the House floor over dueling proposed amendments to the Student Success Act, a bipartisan bill dealing with funding for K-12 schools. Addressing issues of transparency, one of the amendments was brought by Democrat Millie Hamner, D-Dillon, with an opposing one raised by Rep. Jim Wilson, R-Salida.

According to the Republicans, part of Priola’s job as whip is to determine where membership stands on issues and help align support within the party. On Wednesday, party members say, Priola not only failed to do that, he argued on the floor in favor of Hamner’s amendment over Wilson’s.

When Hamner’s amendment was passed in a close vote, it led to Thursday’s move by Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, to have Priola removed.

The education reform group endorsed both Republican and Democrat candidates.

Most endorsements offer few surprises, which is why I did a double take when I read Stand For Children’s endorsements. The education reform group backed a mixture of Republican and Democrat candidates, mostly to the state House and Senate.

Most organizations back candidates from one party or another or mostly from one party or the other, but not in this case.

Sonja Semion of Stand For Children said the candidates were interviewed by a panel of parents and educators.

“The endorsed candidates demonstrated their commitment to supporting quality teaching and school leadership, increasing access to excellent public schools across the state, and investing more in what works in public education,” she said.

Sen. Gail Schartz and Rep. Millie Hamner visit with Colorado Department of Transportation officials and the contractor working on fixing a sinkhole near Leadville.

Two Democrat lawmakers on Friday visited the construction site where officials are repairing a sinkhole that has closed a portion of U.S. 24.

“I’m amazed at the efficiency with which the Colorado Department of Transportation has addressed this issue,” said Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village. “Road work should be completed by Aug. 6th, in time for the Pro Cycle Challenge and the communities of Leadville and Minturn to have this open for commuting workers and tourists.”

She visited the area with Rep. Millie Hamner, D-Dillon.

The giant sinkhole that closed a stretch of U.S. 24 north of Leadville earlier this month has been determined to be a century-old railroad tunnel that collapsed decades ago and was exposed when the soil thawed. CDOT announced last week it had chosen a contractor for the project.

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Curry needed the valid signatures of 400 voters to petition her way onto the November ballot, and Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s office notified her she had 442 signatures.

Curry, who’d been elected three times to the legislature as a Democrat before leaving the party, was unable to run as an unaffiliated candidate in 2010 because she had not changed her registration soon enough and instead ran unsuccessfully as a write-in candidate. Democrat Roger Wilson of Glenwood Springs won the race, but did not seek re-election this year after legislative redistricting put him into a heavily Republican district.

The newly drawn House District 61 stretches from Summit and Lake counties in the east and includes Pitkin, Gunnison and Delta counites.

Now, Rep. Millie Hamner, D-Dillon, who represents House District 56, was redrawn into the new House District 61 and is running for the seat. She faces Republican Debra Irvine of Breckenridge, but American Constitution Party candidate Robert Petrowsky of Leadville is also on the November ballot.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.